UK Government on Iran

[Annie]

Sent to me by Rory Winter

IRAN

Having engaged in quite a protracted correspondence with Alex Salmond, MP, about the Iran issue he was persuaded to write to Jack Straw, Foreign Affairs Secretary, for an assurance that Britain will have nothing to do with a military attack on Iran. He received a reply from Kim Howells. The reply is, at best, non-committal and doesn't rule out a change of plan where Britain might, in some way, assist the US in a military attack. Howells states that no requests for use of British bases has been received. But as the USAF is already based at Fairford and Diego Garcia it is unlikely that permission need be sought anyway.

Howells uses half the letter to quote Bush and Condoleeza Rice after reassuring us that the UK's "diplomatic efforts to resolve this issue are supported by the US." That should be the other way round because before Bush's rogue regime decided to make a lot of noise about it, Iran was not an issue. When an issue was fabricated around it the Brits were obliged to follow the US line which is what they so predictably did.

Howells repeats the lie about Iran achieving a nuclear weapon. This despite all the evidence furnished by the IAEA to the United Nations quite clearly indicating that it has not found any evidence of the existence of such a programme. Anyone who deconstructs the recent IAEA report will see that the criticisms made therein of Iran relate to issues which are clearly resolvable, none of which point to suspicions of a nuclear weapon programme.

So what does "diplomacy" in the case of Iran mean other than the implementation of a Chapter VII resolution enabling sanctions leading to a 'legitimized' military attack some time in the future? Iran was always an exception to the rule as far as the Bushistas are concerned and to its shame, the UK Foreign Office and ministers have obediently complied with their lies.

Kim Howell's reply to Salmond is nothing more than a pastiche based upon those lies. Let's hope his party's war criminals get the drubbing they so richly deserve in the local elections tomorrow.

[paul wright]